Calhoun County, AL – The Calhoun County Commission held the first of two public hearings concerning the redrawing of district lines. This hearing was held on Thursday, August 3rd in the Commission Chambers. In addition to the Public County Administrator, Mark Tyner, County Attorney Gloria Floyd, Probate Judge, Alice Martin, GIS Manger, Robert Scheitlin, and representatives from the County Board of Registrars were present.
The meeting started with Mr. Tyner explaining that this was only for the redrawing on district lines. Mr. Scheitlin then explained in more detail what the federal requirements were. This redrawing is based on the 2020 census numbers. Per federal law the county must take the total population numbers and divided them evenly amongst the five districts. There can be up to a 5% variance. In addition a further federal requirement is for one of the districts to be at over 50% minority. For Calhoun County district 1 is the area that meets that qualification.
Several members of the community wanted to understand how the process worked and were very vocal on their opinions. Mr. R.E. Bradford was a part of the last redistricting and was upset because district one didn’t have as much land area as the other districts. He felt that because it was over 50% minority those residents were not given the same opportunity to grow and expand. He also stated he wanted the same access to lakes and parks that other districts had. He also stated that minorities were growing while white numbers were dwindling yet the land mass isn’t changing to reflect that change. Mr. Scheitlin explained that the lines were drawn on population numbers only and not on land mass. They also have to have that minority district and the City of Anniston is the best area for that district to be in based on numbers. If there is a higher population in a concentrated area then the land mass will be smaller. Mr. Bradford did acknowledge he understood, but he felt that African Americans were not were represented by Alabama politics. He also felt that Attorney General Steve Marshall and Governor Kay Ivey were deliberately making the rules to keep minorities restricted. Mrs. Floyd did remind Mr. Bradford those were state decisions and were not made at the county level. Mr. Bradford went on to say there was a federal mandate for fair and equitable voting and that was not being met. He referenced food/grocery deserts that forced many in districts one to have to leave their district to find what they needed. He said it was, “stacking, packing, and cracking.” Mr. Bradford also asked why there were no blacks on the board of registrars. He was told those are appointed positions and they are appointed at the state level.
Another resident wanted to know if all the commissioners agreed to the new laws. He was told that while there has been no formal vote they are supported to proposal to move forward to the public hearing stage. They also wanted to know what minority was defined as. Mr. Scheitlin said it is cased on the federal definition and does include, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian, Hispanics, and those who marked mixed race on the census. There are other in the minority grouping, but those are the largest numbers for Calhoun County.
Mr. Scheitlin wanted to give further insight on to some of the changes. He said that the Jacksonville and Piedmont areas experience the most census growth but the Anniston area lost the most. These changes resulted in the areas of district five being made smaller and the area of district one being made larger. This was to balance the numbers. He also explained that the lines are based on census blocks. This means that a street could be divided into two desperate district areas. He also stressed this does not impact house voting district at all. That is determined on a state level and not by the county.
When asked what the next steps were it was explained there would be a second public hearing at the next Commission meeting. After that hearing a vote would take place. If it passes the proposed map would be in effect for the next vote. The board of registrars will send out a postcard to any resident that has their district changed.
Mr. Tyner thanked all for coming out and especially thanked Mrs. Floyd, Mrs. Woods, Judge Martin, Mr. Scheitlin, and the board of registrars for their hard work. Judge Martin spoke and stated how lucky Calhoun County is to not have the volume of problems that many counties have facing redistricting. She credited the commission, board of registrars, and the county employees for the excellent work they do abiding by the federal laws .
